Residents blame faulty road recarpeting work for monsoon misery

Residents have blamed the Municipal Corporation and the UT Administration for the problem of waterlogging in various parts of the city.

Ajag Jagga, a city resident, said the authorities had been recarpeting the roads without scraping the old layer of bitumen, which increased their level. Since the level of the adjoining houses and shops had remained the same, rainwater flowed into them, he added.

Sukhna floodgates shut after 15 hours

The UT Administration closed the two floodgates of Sukhna Lake after nearly 15 hours last night. One of the floodgates was opened around 7.30 am and another around 8 am yesterday after the water level of the lake crossed the danger mark of 1,163 feet. Officials said the floodgates were closed around 11 pm after water level dropped to 1,162 ft yesterday. The excess water of the lake was released into the Ghaggar river through the Sukhna choe. A control room has also been established to coordinate with the district administrations of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula for proper communication during the opening of floodgates.

In a letter to the Chief Vigilance Officer, Chandigarh Administration, Jagga stated that faulty recarpeting left various areas of the city flooded. “The level of roads has gone up by almost 18 inches, due to recarpeting without removal of the existing layer. This will cause a huge financial loss of the UT Administration apart from damaging the city’s character,” he said.

Since the level of roads increased post recarpeting, many manholes had to be covered with another manhole, affecting their utility.

Shopkeepers in Manimajra have also been complaining for long that their shops inundate with water during heavy rain, causing a huge loss to them.

Harman Sidhu, a resident of Sector 21, said rains in the past one week saw flooding of the roads from Madhya Marg to Dakshin Marg. He added that the problem of waterlogging had been increasing in the city continuously; an hour of heavy rain causes a choc-a block on roads.